EU to Launch EnMAR+ Maritime Security Project
The European Union's EnMAR+ initiative extends maritime security work from the Gulf of Guinea to the Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in International Trade
The European Union launched EnMAR+ in September 2026, a maritime security project funded by the European Commission's Service for Foreign Policy Instruments and implemented by Expertise France. The project extends the work of the earlier EnMAR project, which ran in the Gulf of Guinea from October 2022 to April 2026, to the Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean.
Why it matters
More than 80% of global trade moves by sea, and up to 99% of international data flows rely on undersea cables, making shipping lanes and cable routes critical infrastructure. Piracy, trafficking, illegal fishing and regional conflicts continue to threaten coastal states and freedom of navigation.
EnMAR organised more than 100 activities and engaged over 2,000 participants, with one-third of them women, over roughly three and a half years. Global trade and data-flow dependence on sea routes and undersea cables provides the baseline for the program's scope, though the source does not report EnMAR+ funding levels or measured security outcomes.
The players
European Union
The EU is a political and economic union of 27 member states that coordinates foreign and security policy, including its revised Maritime Security Strategy adopted in 2023.
Expertise France
Expertise France is the French public agency for international technical cooperation that implements development and security programs abroad.
The details
EnMAR+ adapts its activities to the specific security challenges and regional priorities of each maritime region and supports political dialogue between the EU and coastal states, including on protecting shipping and undersea cables. Implementation runs until February 2028, with the Expertise France-led project operating under the guidance of the EEAS Senior Coordinator for Maritime Security and the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments.
Timeline
October 2022 to April 2026: The original EnMAR project operates in the Gulf of Guinea.
2023: The EU adopts its revised Maritime Security Strategy.
September 2026: The EU launches EnMAR+.
February 2028: EnMAR+ implementation is scheduled to end.
Finance Context
EnMAR+ operationalizes the EU's revised Maritime Security Strategy adopted in 2023 by carrying the Gulf of Guinea model into the Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean. The expansion addresses shipping routes that carry more than 80% of global trade and the undersea cables that underpin up to 99% of international data flows.
Shipping security along Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean routes may affect the reliability of sea-borne goods that carry most global trade. The project's focus on undersea cables also bears on the stability of international data connections that businesses and consumers rely on daily.
The takeaway
Maritime security programs like EnMAR+ work to protect the shipping lanes and undersea cables that carry most global trade and data, so their effectiveness bears on the everyday cost and reliability of goods and connectivity. Tracking the project's progress through its 2028 end date will show whether regional expansion delivers measurable gains.
What happens next
EnMAR+ implementation is scheduled to run until February 2028, marking the project's end date.
Further reading
For broader context on how maritime security shapes cross-border commerce, see International Trade.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Europa.
